Seiko Epson Corporation , commonly known as Epson , is a Japanese multinational electronics company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of printers and information- and imaging-related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa , Nagano , Japan, the company has numerous subsidiaries worldwide and manufactures inkjet , dot matrix , thermal and laser printers for consumer, business and industrial use, scanners , laptop and desktop computers , video projectors , watches , point of sale systems, robots and industrial automation equipment, semiconductor devices , crystal oscillators , sensing systems and other associated electronic components.
74-468: The IBM WatchPad was a line of earlier smartwatch prototypes, produced in 2000-2002. In June 2000, IBM displayed a prototype for a wristwatch that ran Linux . The original version had only 6 hours of battery life, which was later extended to 12. It featured 8 MB of RAM and ran Linux 2.2. The device was later upgraded with an accelerometer , vibrating mechanism, and fingerprint sensor . IBM began to collaborate with Citizen Watch Co. to create
148-972: A mobile operating system , Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, and the ability to function as portable media players or FM radios . Some high-end models have cellular capabilities, allowing users to make and receive phone calls. While internal hardware varies, most smartwatches have a backlit LCD or OLED electronic visual display and are powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery . They may also incorporate GPS receivers , digital cameras , and microSD card readers, as well as various internal and environmental sensors such as thermometers , accelerometers , altimeters , barometers , gyroscopes , and ambient light sensors . Some smartwatches also function as activity trackers and include body sensors such as pedometers , heart rate monitors , galvanic skin response sensors, and ECG sensors. Software may include maps , health and exercise-related apps, calendars , and various watch faces . The first digital watch
222-604: A printer control language , the Epson Standard Code for Printers (or ESC/P ). It became a de facto industry standard for controlling print formatting during the era of dot matrix printers , whose popularity was initially started by the Epson MX-80. Epson Robots is the robotics design and manufacturing department of Epson. Seiko Epson produces some microcontrollers, such as the S1C63 . In 1980, Epson started
296-429: A waterproof rating of 5 atm , which means it can be submerged down to 40 metres (130 ft) and has been tested in both fresh and salt water, allowing one to shower, dive or swim while wearing the watch. In 2013, startup Omate announced its TrueSmart watch via a Kickstarter campaign, claiming it was the first smartwatch to capture the full capabilities of a smartphone. The campaign raised over $ 1 million, making it
370-423: A wristwatch . Most modern smartwatches are operated via a touchscreen , and rely on mobile apps that run on a connected device (such as a smartphone ) in order to provide core functions. Early smartwatches were capable of performing basic functions like calculating , displaying digital time, translating text, and playing games. More recent models often offer features comparable to smartphones , including apps,
444-494: A 320 × 240 QVGA monochrome touch sensitive display and runs Linux 2.4. It also features calendar software, Bluetooth , 8 MB of RAM and 16 MB of flash memory. Citizen was hoping to market the watch to students and businessmen, with a retail price of around $ 399. Epson Seiko introduced their Chrono-bit wristwatch in September 2000. The Chrono-bit watches have a rotating bezel for data input, synchronize PIM data via
518-473: A December 2013 interview that his company was working on a smartwatch. Woodside further discussed the difficulties that other companies had experienced with wrist-wearable technologies. In April 2014, the Samsung Gear 2 was released, one of few smartwatches to be equipped with a digital camera. It has a resolution of two megapixels and can record video in 720p. At the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show ,
592-554: A Kickstarter campaign for its HOT Watch smartwatch in September 2013. This device enables users to leave their handsets in their pockets, since it has a speaker for phone calls in both quiet and noisy environments. In a September 2013 interview, Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky stated that his company was not interested in any acquisition offers. Two months later, he revealed that his company has sold 190,000 smartwatches, most of which were sold after its Kickstarter campaign closed. Motorola Mobility CEO Dennis Woodside confirmed during
666-450: A Swatch Touch with smartwatch technologies in 2015. In the UK, London's Wearable Technology Show debuted several new models from smartwatch companies. Samsung's Gear S smartwatch was launched in late August 2014. The model features a curved Super AMOLED display and a built-in 3G modem. TechCrunch ' s Darrell Etherington said that "we’re finally starting to see displays that wrap around
740-601: A button. On 29 October 2014, Microsoft announced the Microsoft Band , a smart fitness tracker and the company's first venture into wrist-worn devices since SPOT (Smart Personal Objects Technology) a decade earlier. The Microsoft Band was released at $ 199 the following day. In October 2015, Samsung unveiled the Samsung Gear S2 . It features a rotating bezel for ease of use, and an IP68 rating for water resistance up to 1.5 meters deep for 30 minutes. The watch
814-528: A complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in February 2006 against 24 companies that manufactured, imported, or distributed Epson- compatible ink cartridges for resale in the U.S. On March 30, 2007, ITC judge Paul Luckern issued an initial determination that the cartridges in question did infringe upon Epson's patents . He also recommended those companies and others to be barred from manufacturing, importing, or reselling Epson cartridges in
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#1732787600836888-408: A computer or online in order to create a log of activities for analysis or sharing. Some watches can provide full GPS support, displaying maps and current coordinates, recording tracks, and bookmarking locations. With Apple, Sony, Samsung, and Motorola introducing smartwatch models, 15 percent of tech consumers use wearable technologies, which has attracted advertisers. Advertising on wearable devices
962-705: A division of Seiko Group, produces Seiko timepieces in-house through its subsidiaries as well as delegates the manufacture of some of its high-end watches (Seiko Astron, Grand Seiko, Credor, etc) to Epson. The company makes some of Seiko's highest-grade watches at the Micro Artist Studio inside its Shiojiri Plant in Shiojiri , Nagano . Beside Seiko timepieces, Epson develops, designs, manufactures, markets, and sells watches under its own brands such as Trume, Orient , and Orient Star. In 2004, Epson introduced their R-D1 (the first digital rangefinder camera on
1036-567: A fundraising record for the site, raising $ 10.3 million between 12 April and 18 May 2012. The watch has a 32-millimetre (1.26 in) 144 × 168 pixel black and white memory LCD, using an ultra low-power " transflective LCD " manufactured by Sharp . It features a backlight, vibrating motor, magnetometer , ambient light sensors, and three-axis accelerometer . It can communicate with an Android or iOS device using both Bluetooth 2.1 and Bluetooth 4.0 ( Bluetooth Low Energy ) via Stonestreet One's Bluetopia+MFi software stack. Bluetooth 4.0 support
1110-529: A large number of new smartwatches were released from various companies such as Razer Inc . Archos , Some called the show a "wrist revolution". At Google I/O on 25 June 2014, the Android Wear platform was introduced and the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live were released. The Wear-based Moto 360 was announced by Motorola in 2014. At the end of July, Swatch's CEO Nick Hayek announced that they will launch
1184-470: A nearby smartphone connection. In 2018, Samsung introduced the Samsung Galaxy Watch series . In its September 2018 keynote, Apple introduced a redesigned Apple Watch Series 4. It featured a larger display with smaller bezels, as well as an EKG feature which is built to detect abnormal heart function. In Qualcomm's September 2018 presentation, it unveiled its Snapdragon 3100 chip. It is
1258-415: A nightmare in progress based on heart rate monitoring and body movement. Smartwatches rose in popularity during the 2010s. Today, they are often used as fitness trackers, and smartphone "companions". According to a study from statista , smartwatch revenue was estimated to reach $ 44.15 billion by 2023, and revenue per year was expected to continue to grow to $ 62.46 billion by 2028. The top contributors to
1332-459: A prototype for the WatchPad , a wristwatch that ran Linux . The original version had only 6 hours of battery life, which was later extended to 12. It featured 8 MB of memory and ran Linux 2.2. The device was later upgraded with an accelerometer, vibrating mechanism, and fingerprint sensor. IBM began to collaborate with Citizen Watch Co. to create the "WatchPad". The WatchPad 1.5 features
1406-798: A retail environment. Reps were assigned on weekend shifts, typically around 12–20 hours a week. Epson started the Weekend Warrior program with TMG Marketing (now Mosaic Sales Solutions), and later with Keystone Marketing Inc, then returned to Mosaic, and switched again to Campaigners Inc. on June 24, 2007 after the Mosaic contract expired. The sales reps of Campaigners, Inc. are not outsourced; Epson hired rack jobbers to ensure retailers displayed products properly, freeing up its regular sales force to concentrate on profitable sales solutions to value-added resellers and system integrators, leaving "retail" to reps who did not require sales skills. Epson entered
1480-516: A serial cable, and can load custom watch faces. In 2003, Fossil released the Wrist PDA , a watch that ran the Palm OS and contained 8 MB of RAM and 4 MB of flash memory. It contained a built in stylus to assist in using the tiny monochrome display, which had a resolution of 160×160 pixels. Although many reviewers declared the watch revolutionary, it was criticized for its weight (108 grams) and
1554-687: A smartphone app to execute their functions. They are paired to a smartphone, usually via Bluetooth . Some of these only work with a phone that runs the same mobile operating system ; others use an OS that is unique to the watch, or otherwise is able to work with most smartphones. Paired, the watch may function as a remote to the phone. This allows the watch to display data such as calls, SMS messages, emails , calendar invitations, and any data that may be made available by relevant phone apps . From about 2015, several manufacturers began to release smartwatches with LTE support, enabling direct connection to 3G / 4G mobile networks for voice and SMS use, without
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#17327876008361628-980: A smartwatch powered by Android Wear. On 31 August 2016, Samsung unveiled the Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch, with improved specifications. There are two models of the watch: the Samsung Gear S3 Classic and the LTE version Samsung Gear S3 Frontier. The top smartwatches that debuted at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show included the Casio WSD-F20, the Misfit Wearables Vapor and the Garmin Fenix 5 series. On 22 September 2017 Apple released their Apple Watch Series 3 model which offers built in LTE cellular connectivity allowing phone calls, messaging and data without relying on
1702-560: A smartwatch with a long life cycle. Ruputer and onHand PC applications are fully compatible with each other. This watch is sometimes considered the first smartwatch, as it was the first to display graphics (albeit in monochrome), and third-party applications (mostly homebrew). In 1999, Samsung launched the world's first watch phone, the SPH-WP10. It had a protruding antenna, monochrome LCD screen, and 90-minute talk time with an integrated speaker and microphone. In June 2000, IBM displayed
1776-565: A successor to the Wear 2100, and it includes greater power efficiency, and a separate low power core that can run basic watch functions as well as slightly more advanced functions, such as step tracking. In 2020, the United States Food and Drug Administration granted marketing approval for an Apple Watch app called NightWare. The app aims to improve sleep for people suffering from PTSD -related nightmares, by vibrating when it detects
1850-508: Is compatible with industry-standard 20 mm straps. At the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, Razer released the Nabu Watch, a dual-screen smartwatch. The first screen integrates an always-on illuminated backlit display and handles standard features such as date and time. The second OLED screen, activated by raising one's wrist, allows access to additional smart features. Luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer also released TAG Heuer Connected ,
1924-580: Is denied. The user cannot know if information is being stored securely, and it cannot be deleted. There is no control over whether the supplier views it or sells it on, for whatever purpose. In many cases, data collected is not encrypted when transmitted to the supplier. Which? did not specifically test the functionality of ultra-cheap watches, but noticed during their security audit that some could heart rate, blood oxygen measurements, and steps while not being worn or moved. They said that this "suggests [that] they are at best inaccurate and at worst useless". In
1998-472: Is due to the method that smartwatches use to monitor heart rate. An article published by the Healthcare Degree describes the most common method, in which devices use optical sensors to track the presence of blood in the wrist, indicating a heart beat. This type of lighting technique is cheaper and simple to use than other methods; however, because the green light used has shorter wavelengths , it
2072-428: Is less able to penetrate melanin , the pigment which causes darker skin. This can make heart rate tracking for darker-skinned individuals less accurate. Social consequences from the increase in popularity of smartwatches include data collection and data privacy concerns. Smartwatches are capable of collecting personal health data such as activity levels, heart rate , sleep patterns , and other metrics. This user data
2146-524: Is often collected and stored in the cloud, which can sometimes be accessed by companies and researchers, and used for many purposes. There have been many cases of data misuse. One instance published by the Warren Alpert Medical School involved Fitbit facing a lawsuit in 2011 for selling personal health data to advertisers without user consent. Another instance occurred when Strava allowed users to share their routes, which led to
2220-561: The Sony Ericsson LiveView , a wearable watch device which was essentially an external Bluetooth display for an Android smartphone. Vyzin Electronics Private Limited launched a ZigBee enabled smart watch called VESAG, which featured cellular connectivity for remote health monitoring. Motorola released MOTOACTV on 6 November 2011. Pebble was a smartwatch funded via Kickstarter , which set
2294-705: The United Kingdom , a Product Security and Telecoms Infrastructure Act was passed in December 2022, effective from 2024. The Act, which should cover smartwatches, specifies security standards that manufacturers, importers and distributors (including online marketplaces) of smart devices must meet. Due to faults in the design of current smartwatches, hardware and software designs have sometimes favored certain demographics. For example, smartwatches have more accurate tracking of data for individuals who have lighter skin, compared to individuals who have darker skin. This
IBM WatchPad - Misplaced Pages Continue
2368-414: The "WatchPad". The WatchPad 1.5 features a 320 × 240 QVGA monochrome touch sensitive display and runs Linux 2.4. It also features calendar software, Bluetooth , 8 MB of RAM and 16 MB of flash memory . Citizen was hoping to market the watch to students and businessmen, with a retail price of around $ 399. Smartwatches A smartwatch is a portable wearable computer that resembles
2442-623: The 1980s, most notably the "RC Series". The RC-1000 Wrist Terminal from Seiko Epson was released in 1984; it was the first Seiko model to interface with a computer and was priced at around £100. It featured 2 KB of storage, a two-line, 12-character display, and data transfer with a computer via an RS232C interface. It was powered by a computer on a chip , and was compatible with most of the popular PCs of that time, including Apple II, II+ and IIe, BBC Micro , Commodore 64, IBM PC, NEC 8201, Tandy Color Computer, Model 1000, 1200, 2000 and TRS-80 Model I, III, 4 and 4p. The RC-20 Wrist Computer
2516-629: The 1st section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange . Since 2017, the company is a constituent of the Nikkei Stock Average index. Although Seiko Group Corporation ( f/k/a K. Hattori, Hattori Seiko, and Seiko Holdings) and the key members of the Hattori family still hold approximately 10% of the outstanding shares of Seiko Epson, the company is managed and operated completely independently from Seiko Group. Seiko Watch Corporation,
2590-419: The 5th most successful Kickstarter at that time. The device made its public debut in early 2014. Consumer device analyst Avi Greengart, from research firm Current Analysis, suggested that 2013 may be the "year of the smartwatch", as "the components have gotten small enough and cheap enough" and many consumers own smartphones that are compatible with a wearable device. Wearable technology , such as Google Glass ,
2664-731: The Micro Piezo inkjet technology, which used a piezoelectric crystal in each nozzle and did not heat the ink at the print head while spraying it onto the page, and released the Epson MJ-500 inkjet cartridge for the Epson Stylus 800 printer in March 1993. Shortly after in 1994, Epson released the first 720 dpi colour inkjet printer, the Epson Stylus Color (P860A) utilizing the Micro Piezo head technology. Newer models of
2738-567: The R-D1 up to the full functionality of its successor, being the first digital camera manufacturer to make such an upgrade available for free. In September 2012, Epson introduced a printer called the Expression Premium XP-800 Small-in-One, with the ability to print wirelessly. The Expression brand name has since been used on various models of scanners. In the third quarter of 2012, Epson's global market share in
2812-613: The Seiko Group) and began as a manufacturer of watch parts for Daini Seikosha (currently Seiko Instruments ). The company started operation in a 230-square-metre (2,500 sq ft) renovated miso storehouse with 22 employees. In 1943, Daini Seikosha established a factory in Suwa for manufacturing Seiko watches with Daiwa Kogyo. In 1959, the Suwa Factory was split up and merged into Daiwa Kogyo to form Suwa Seikosha Co., Ltd:
2886-647: The Stylus series employed Epson's special DURABrite ink and used two hard drives (an HD 850 and an HD 860). In 1994, Epson started to outsource sales representatives to help sell their products in retail stores in the United States. The same year, they started the Epson Weekend Warrior sales program. The purpose of the program was to help improve sales, improve retail sales reps' knowledge of Epson products, and to address Epson customer service in
2960-453: The U.S., said Epson. In 2015, it emerged that Epson printers reported cartridges to be empty when in fact up to 20% of their ink remains. As in 2003, the company responded: The ink reporting and ink cartridges used in Epson's Stylus Pro 9900-series large format printer reports on ink levels and simultaneously protect the health of the printhead . During printhead maintenance or cleanings, if
3034-413: The accidental revelation of several military base locations throughout the world. AsteroidOS is an open source firmware replacement for some Android Wear devices. Seiko Epson The company has developed as one of manufacturing and research and development (formerly known as Seikosha ) of the former Seiko Group , a name traditionally known for manufacturing Seiko timepieces . Seiko Epson
IBM WatchPad - Misplaced Pages Continue
3108-665: The best selling printer in the United States . In July 1982, Shinshu Seiki officially named itself the Epson Corporation and launched the world's first handheld computer, the HX-20 (HC-20), and in May 1983, the world's first portable colour LCD TV was developed and launched by the company. In November 1985, Suwa Seikosha Co., Ltd. and the Epson Corporation merged to form Seiko Epson Corporation. The company developed
3182-452: The company in 2017. In 1961, Suwa Seikosha established a company called Shinshu Seiki Co. as a subsidiary to supply precision parts for Seiko watches. When Seiko was selected to be the official time keeper for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, a printing timer was required to time events, and Shinshu Seiki started developing an electronic printer. In September 1968, Shinshu Seiki launched
3256-486: The company's ultra-precision machining and micromechatronics technologies and still a major business for Seiko Epson, although it accounts for a low percentage of total revenues. Watches made by the company are sold through the Seiko Watch Corporation, a subsidiary of Seiko Group. The watch brand Orient Watch , also known as Orient Star, has been owned by Epson since 2009 and was fully integrated into
3330-847: The contours of the wrist, rather than sticking out as a traditional flat surface". The corporation commenced selling the Gear S smartwatch in October 2014, alongside the Gear Circle headset accessory. At IFA 2014, Sony Mobile announced the third generation of its smartwatch series, the Sony Smartwatch 3, powered by Android Wear. Fashion Entertainments' e-paper watch was also announced at the show. On 9 September 2014, Apple Inc. announced its first smartwatch, called Apple Watch, with an early 2015 release date. On 24 April 2015, Apple Watch began shipping worldwide. Apple's first wearable attempt
3404-579: The end of the decade for them to become more common. Two models were particularly notable: Motorola and Timex produced the Wrist Watch Pager, while AT&T Corporation and Seiko produced the MessageWatch. The Timex Datalink , introduced in 1994, was the first watch capable of transferring data wirelessly from a computer. Appointments and contacts created with Microsoft Schedule+ (the predecessor to MS Outlook) could be downloaded to
3478-599: The first smartphone watch with its own SIM card. The watch was "standalone", meaning it did not require tethering to a smartphone. Burg received the award for the Most Innovative Product at the Canton Fair in April 2009. Samsung also launched their S9110 Watch Phone, which featured a 1.76-inch (45 mm) color LCD display and was 11.98 millimetres (0.472 in) thin. Sony Ericsson launched
3552-546: The forerunner of the Seiko Epson Corporation. The company has developed many timepiece technologies, such as the world's first portable quartz timer (Seiko QC-951) in 1963, the world's first quartz watch ( Seiko Quartz Astron 35SQ ) in 1969, the first automatic power-generating quartz watch (Seiko Auto-Quartz) in 1988, and the Spring Drive watch movement in 1999. The watch business is the root of
3626-399: The form of watches. The Data 2000 watch, named for its ability to store 2000 characters, came with an external keyboard for data entry. Data was synchronised from the keyboard to the watch via electromagnetic coupling (wireless docking). Its memory was small, at only 112 digits. It was released in 1984, in gold, silver, and black. These models were followed by many others from Seiko during
3700-624: The future of smartwatches: Acer's S.T. Liew stated in an interview with gadget website Pocket-Lint that he believed that companies should be researching wearable technology, and that it could grown to "billions of dollars' worth of industry". As of 4 September 2013, three new smartwatches had been launched: the Samsung Galaxy Gear , Sony SmartWatch 2 , and the Qualcomm Toq . PHTL, a company based in Dallas, Texas , completed
3774-573: The latter of which is an enterprise oriented, upgraded version of the BT-200 with stereoscopic cameras. The company also was the first to release consumer smartglasses with transparent optics, which were popular with drone pilots for providing a first-person view while still being able to see the drone in the sky. In 2016, Epson presented the large-format SureColor SC-P10000 ink printer; it prints with inks in ten colours on paper up to 44 inches (1.1 m) wide. To control its printers, Epson introduced
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#17327876008363848-399: The list of companies that were engaged in smartwatch development activities consisted of Acer , Apple, BlackBerry , Foxconn /Hon Hai, Google , LG , Microsoft , Qualcomm , Samsung, Sony , VESAG and Toshiba . Some notable omissions from this list include HP , HTC , Lenovo , and Nokia . Science and technology journalist Christopher Mims identified the following points in relation to
3922-460: The market size of market watches include Apple Inc , Fossil Group Inc , Garmin Lt , Google LLC , Huawei Technologies Co , Samsung , and Xiaomi . Many smartwatch smartphone models manufactured in the 2010s are completely functional as standalone products. Some are used in sports and feature a GPS tracking unit that can record historical data. For example, after a workout, data can be uploaded onto
3996-522: The market), which supports the Leica M mount and Leica M39 mount lenses with an adapter ring. Because its sensor is smaller than that of the standard 35 mm film frame, lenses mounted on the R-D1 have a field of view 1.53 times as wide as that of the standard 35 mm camera. In 2006, the R-D1 was replaced by the R-D1s, a cheaper version with identical hardware. Epson has released a firmware patch to bring
4070-484: The need to carry a paired smartphone. Tests by UK consumer organization Which? found that ultra-cheap smartwatches and fitness trackers sold online often had serious security flaws, including excessive data collection, insecure data storage, the inability to opt out of data collection, and a lack of a security lock function. Typically, a watch app can request permission to collect and store personally identifiable information, and apps can be rendered unusable if permission
4144-577: The personal computer market in 1983 with the QX-10 , a CP/M -compatible Z80 machine. By 1986, the company had shifted to the growing PC market with the Equity line. EPSON manufactured and sold NEC PC-9801 clones in Japan. Epson withdrew from the international PC market in 1996. The company still produces and sells PCs in Japan as of 2024. In June 2003, the company became public following their listing on
4218-402: The production of robots. In July 2003, a Netherlands -based consumer association advised its 640,000 members to boycott Epson inkjet printers. The organisation alleged that Epson customers were unfairly charged for ink they could never use. Later that month, however, the group retracted its call for a nationwide boycott and issued a statement conceding that residual ink left in Epson cartridges
4292-668: The sale of printers, copiers and multifunction devices amounted to 15.20 percent. In September 2015, Epson debuted the ET-4550 printer, which enables the user to pour ink into separate inkwells from ink bottles instead of cartridges. Epson is also involved in the smartglasses market. Since 2016, the company has three different models: the Moverio BT-100, the Moverio BT-200, and the Moverio Pro BT-2000,
4366-566: The same year, Epson America Inc. was established to sell printers for Shinshu Seiki Co. In June 1978, the TX-80 (TP-80) , an eighty-column dot matrix printer , was released to the market and was mainly used as a system printer for the Commodore PET computer. After two years of further development, an improved model, the MX-80 (MP-80), was launched in October 1980. It was soon advertised as
4440-524: The watch via patterns of visible light , which were displayed by a computer monitor and then detected by the watch's optical sensor. In 1998, Steve Mann designed and built the world's first Linux wristwatch. He presented it at the IEEE ISSCC on 7 February 2000, where he was dubbed "the father of wearable computing". The watch later appeared on the cover of Linux Journal in July 2000, in which it
4514-519: The world's first mini-printer, the EP-101 ("EP" for Electronic Printer), which was soon incorporated into many calculators. In June 1975, the name Epson was coined for the next generation of printers based on the EP-101, which was released to the public. The Epson name was coined by joining the initials EP (Electronic Printer) and the word son , making "Epson" mean "Electronic Printer's Son". In April of
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#17327876008364588-511: Was a standalone smartwatch that offered information at a glance, in comparison to other devices that required more immersion and interaction. The information included weather, news, stock prices, and sports scores, and was transmitted through FM waves. It was accessible through a yearly subscription that cost between $ 39 and $ 59. The Microsoft SPOT Watch had a monochrome 90×126 pixel screen. Fossil, Suunto, and Tissot also sold smartwatches using SPOT technology. For instance, Fossil's Abacus, which
4662-495: Was a variant of the Fossil Wrist PDA, retailed from $ 130 to $ 150. Sony Ericsson teamed up with Fossil and released the first watch, MBW-100, that connected to Bluetooth. This watch notified the user when receiving calls and text messages. The watch struggled to gain popularity, however, due to its exclusivity to Sony Ericsson phones. In 2009, Hermen van den Burg, CEO of Smartwatch and Burg Wearables, launched Burg ,
4736-454: Was discontinued in 2005. In the same year, Microsoft announced its SPOT smartwatch, which it released in early 2004. SPOT stands for Smart Personal Objects Technology , an initiative by Microsoft to personalize household electronics and other everyday gadgets. For instance, the company demonstrated coffee makers, weather stations, and alarm clocks featuring built-in SPOT technology. The device
4810-638: Was expected to increase heavily by 2017 as advanced hypertargeting modules were introduced to the devices; companies aim to crate advertisements that are tailored for smartwatches. "Sport watch" functionality often includes activity tracker features, as included on GPS watches made for training, diving, and outdoor sports. Functions may include training programs (such as intervals), lap times, speed display, GPS tracking unit, route tracking, dive computer , heart rate monitor compatibility, Cadence sensor compatibility, and compatibility with sport transitions (as in triathlons ). Other watches can cooperate with
4884-408: Was met with considerable criticism during its pre-launch period, with many early technology reviews citing issues with battery life and hardware malfunctions. However, other outlets praised Apple for creating a device with the potential to compete with "traditional watches" instead of just smartwatches. The watch's screen only wakes when activated by lifting one's wrist, touching the screen, or pressing
4958-453: Was necessary for the printers to function properly. Epson designed ink to be left in the cartridges (having done so ever since the introduction of piezoelectric print heads) due to the way the capping mechanism worked. If the capping mechanism dries out, then the heads risk getting clogged, necessitating expensive repairs. The reason that the Dutch consumer association retracted their statement
5032-457: Was not initially enabled, but a firmware update in November 2013 enabled it. The watch is charged using a modified USB -cable that attaches magnetically to the watch, allowing it to maintain water resistance. The battery was reported in April 2012 to last seven days. Based on feedback from Kickstarter backers, the developers added water resistance to the device's feature set. The Pebble has
5106-584: Was one of the major companies in the Seiko Group, but is neither a subsidiary nor an affiliate of Seiko Group Corporation. The roots of Seiko Epson Corporation go back to a company called Daiwa Kogyo, Ltd. which was founded in May 1942 by Hisao Yamazaki, a local clock shop owner and former employee of K. Hattori , in Suwa, Nagano . Daiwa Kogyo was supported by an investment from the Hattori family (founder of
5180-566: Was released in 1985, followed by the RC-4000 and RC-4500. During the 1980s, Casio began to market a successful line of "computer watches" in addition to its calculator watches , most notably the Casio data bank series. Casio and other companies also produced novelty "game watches", such as the Nelsonic game watches . Although pager watches were predicted in the early 1980s, it took until
5254-404: Was speculated to evolve into a business worth US$ 6 billion annually, and a July 2013 media report revealed that the majority of major consumer electronics manufacturers were undertaking work on a smartwatch device at the time of publication. The retail price of a smartwatch could be over US$ 300, plus data charges, while the minimum cost of smartphone-linked devices may be US$ 100. As of July 2013,
5328-592: Was that, as pointed out, Epson had made a statement regarding how many pages (at usually a 5% coverage of an A4 sheet of paper ) each cartridge could sustain for printing. Nonetheless, Epson America, Inc. settled a class action lawsuit brought before the Los Angeles Superior Court . It did not admit guilt, but agreed to refund $ 45 to anyone who purchased an Epson inkjet printer after April 8, 1999 (at least $ 20 of which must be used at Epson's e-Store). According to IDG News Service , Epson filed
5402-550: Was the Pulsar , introduced by the Hamilton Watch Company in 1972. The "Pulsar" became a brand name, and would later be acquired by Seiko in 1978. In 1982, a Pulsar watch (NL C01) was released which could store 24 digits, likely making it the first watch with user-programmable memory, or the first " memorybank " watch. With the introduction of personal computers in the 1980s, Seiko began to develop computers in
5476-540: Was the topic of a featured article. Seiko launched the Ruputer in 1998 in Japan, a wristwatch computer with a 3.6 MHz processor. The Ruputer failed to achieve wide success due to its small, hard-to-read screen, cumbersome joystick method of navigation and text input, and poor battery life. Outside of Japan, this watch was distributed as the Matsucom onHand PC. Despite low demand, it was distributed until 2006, making it
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